Here’s the thing about reviewing all this contemporary jazz, specifically when it comes to singers and their accompaniment. I find it a rare occurrence when the vocals match the music. I’m not talking about quality, […]
Jazz guitarist Jackson Potter certainly has that young Chet Baker, who’s-the-kid vibe, and his debut album Restless is certainly is one of those calling cards where the performer gets a chance to play a little […]
Today is officially the last day of summer, and the cooler and possibly rainy weather here in the Pacific Northwest today almost feels celebratory. We’re talking about a summer where on the hottest day here […]
My favorite 2L Recordings albums tend to be those that feature the human voice, such as in a choir. The reason is simple–there’s something gloriously pure about the sound of a human voice, as found […]
I’ve been going on and on about the wonderful and daring Swiss and Russian jazz albums I’ve been receiving, and how their distinctly European takes on simple trios and quartets has re-energized my enthusiasm for […]
This week’s international jazz surprise comes, once again, from Russia. My Story from Ilugdin Trio isn’t as esoteric as some of these other albums I’ve been reviewing–even from fellow Russians such as LRK Trio. Instead, […]
Saxophone player Kenny Shanker and his new album, Beautiful Things, act as quite the polar opposite to the Swiss and Russian jazz that has dominated my review schedule over the last few weeks. These international […]
On the international jazz front the Swiss are still winning, but the Russians are suddenly catching up with a duo of fascinating releases. I’m referring to the increasingly wonderful fact that I’m getting these magnificent […]
I can’t pick out a specific genre for the music played on Dimitri Monstein Ensemble’s Landscape, and yet it’s so familiar, like something I used to hear all over the place many years ago. Monstein, […]
I’ve mentioned the influx of European jazz that’s suddenly arriving in the mail, especially from Switzerland, but here’s a CD from Russia that made quite a surreptitious entrance. I saw the little customs labels all […]
The juggernaut that is Japanese avant-garde pianist Satoko Fujii continues unabated. I received quite a few of her astounding and strange albums from Libra Records over the last few months, and I even let the […]
Take one look at the title of the new album from guitarist Alex Martin, and you’ll probably have a pretty good idea of what kind of music is contained within. Probably folk songs arranged through […]
UK guitarist Chris Standring and his new album Wonderful World have helped me to confront my secret, unspoken love for a certain kind of music, a nebulous genre known by various names such as exotica, […]
To paraphrase one of his album titles, why does everybody dig Bill Evans? Something special happened every time Bill Evans played the piano. Time stood still or seemed to suspend and disappear. When he flew […]
At first I thought this album, with its fiery portrait of Bob Marley and the number 400 written with the bold colors of Jamaica, was a follow up to the Avery Sharpe 400 album I […]
Many jazz fans have never heard of pianist Lennie Tristano. I would imagine a great many jazz musicians, however, would immediately recognize the name. Tristano was known more as a teacher than a performer, and […]
As you might imagine, reviewing all this high-end audio equipment in the context of maintaining a certain sound of the system can be difficult. This week has been a big period of changes, with a […]
Is Record Store Day still a thing? Right now I’m swimming in new releases that were released in conjunction with RSD, as we now call it, Ken Micallef has been writing about RSD releases for […]
Sarah Lee is a tenor saxophone player with an interesting story–she was in IT for 20 years and then decided to follow her dreams. We see a lot of these stories on the contemporary jazz […]
Have I mentioned my drummer friend Florian Arbenz? As I matter of fact I have, when I reviewed his album Reflections with sax player Greg Osby last fall. I call him my “friend” because he’s […]
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